By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun hit his 10th homer of the season to help the Milwaukee Brewers (48-40) destroy the host Chicago Cubs, 11-2. He also walked twice before coming out for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. That two-run shot was part of the seven runs the Brewers put up in the third inning. Danny Valencia hit #9 (#9,…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Ryan Lavarnway, a 29-year-old catcher who last played Major League ball in 2015, was called-up by the Oakland Athletics today. Lavarnway was hitting .274 with 4 HRs, 20 RBIs and a .362 on-base percentage at Triple-A when he got the news. He is replacing C Josh Phegley, who took a three-day paternity leave,…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman had two doubles (16), a single, a walk, three runs scored, and one RBI as the Houston Astros (57-27) beat up on the host Atlanta Braves, 16-4. Danny Valencia was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored for the Seattle Mariners (41-44) in a 7-3 loss to the visiting KC Royals. Kevin…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Danny Valencia had another multi-hit game, going 3-for-4, but the Seattle Mariners (41-43) still lost to the visiting KC Royals, 3-1. In fact, Valencia accounted for 75 percent of his team’s hit total. Ryan Braun was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored as the Milwaukee Brewers (45-40) beat the visiting Baltimore…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Scott Feldman had another fine performance on Friday, shutting out the visiting Chicago Cubs for seven innings on just two singles while striking out seven and walking no one in the Cincinnati Reds’ 5-0 victory. Feldman improved to 7-5 and lowered his ERA to a very respectable 3.78. The Reds are 35-46. The LA…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 26-July 2, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Blake Gailen* In his first week back in the MLB-affiliated minor leagues since 2015, LF Blake Gailen* (Dodgers/AA) hit .333 (5-for-15) with 3 RBIs, highlighted by a two-homer performance on July 1. Jewish Baseball…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Home run happy yet? Three more from our guys punctuated last night’s games, and all six Jewish position players are within striking distance of 10 HRs as the All-Star game nears. Joc Pederson launched his fourth in seven contests, eighth of the season and a record-setting 50th long ball this month for the…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Only three hits total last night for the boys, but two of them went yard, so there was that. Ryan Braun hit his first homer (#8) since April 28, but his long bomb wasn’t enough to keep the Milwaukee Brewers (41-39) from losing a squeaker to the host Cincinnati Reds (33-44), 4-3….
By Ron Kaplan, contributor June 27 games Welcome back, Ryan Braun. The Milwaukee Brewers’ outfielder returned last night to stroke his seventh double — this time, of the ground rule variety — in five trips to the plate and scored a run in an 8-6 loss to the host Cincinnati Reds. He also made this nice catch. Scott Feldman did not…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 19-25, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Zach Borenstein* LF Zach Borenstein* (Diamondbacks/AAA) had a tremendous week, hitting .412 (7-for-17) with 2 homers, 2 triples, 3 walks and 8 RBIs. His .533 slugging percentage is tied for 14th-best in the Pacific Coast…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Dropping Kevin Pillar in the batting order seems to be working, for now. The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder had five hits over the weekend, including his 19th double and ninth home run. But all that didn’t prevent the Jays (36-39) from dropping two of three to the host KC Royals. Summing…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor A good night for batters; for pitchers, not so much. The LA Dodgers (48-26) had just six hits against the visiting NY Mets, but three of then went for home runs, including one by Joc Pederson, his fifth of the year. It came as he led off the seventh inning and…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor So let me get this straight: the days are going to get shorter now? Doesn’t it seem like they should be longest in the middle of summer? Anyway, the days can’t seem to end early enough for the NY Mets, who lost again. The host LA Dodgers (47-26) whooped them, 8-2….
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Joc Pederson was on base four times for the host LA Dodgers (45-26) last night — a run-scoring ground-rule double, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch — in a 12-0 pounding of the NY Mets. I lead off with this one because I actually stayed up to watch the game as I…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Scott Feldman tossed six strong innings, giving up just two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out six for the Cincinnati Reds (30-39) against the host Tampa Bay Rays in a 7-3 win. It was his seventh so-called quality start of the season. But reliever Michel Lorenzen couldn’t hold…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 12-18, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Garrett Stubbs C Garrett Stubbs (Astros/AA) hit .308 (4-for-13) with one RBI and 5 walks while striking out just once last week. The USC alum is one of only three teammates this season with at least…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Three home runs erev Shabbos? Sounds good to me. Mazel of the weekend goes to Joc Pederson, who recently returned from the DL list. In three games against the host Cincinnati Reds, he was 4-for-12 with two home runs (one on Friday and four on the season), a double, four runs…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor A typically light Thursday night: only three MOTs in action, if you can call it that. Ian Kinsler was 1-for-4 with his third stolen base and two runs scored as the Detroit Tigers (31-34) beat the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 5-3. Joc Pederson hit his seventh double in four at-bats and scored a…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Danny Valencia was 2-for-5, scored a run, and notched his 35th RBI to help the Seattle Mariners (33-34) beat the host Minnesota Twins (33-29), 4-2. Craig Breslow did not appear for the Twins in this one. Ian Kinsler hit his ninth double and scored the only run for the Detroit Tigers (30-34) in a 2-1…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Joc Pederson returned to the lineup as the LA Dodgers (40-25) beat the host Cleveland Indians, 7-5. Pederson — batting eighth in the lineup — was 0-for-4 with a walk. Ian Kinsler singled in five trips to the plate and scored a run, but the Detroit Tigers lost to the visiting Diamondbacks, 7-6, when…
